


Into the Unknown

by matimae



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Electrocution, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hidden Injuries, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Whump, Whump, Whumptober 2020, not for long though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:14:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27039298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matimae/pseuds/matimae
Summary: When Peter messes around with the settings on his suit and ends up electrocuted, he doesn't want to call Mr. Stark- petrified he's going to get in trouble and his suit taken away
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Into the Unknown

**Author's Note:**

> written for whumptober no.15 (science gone wrong)

_**Would you like to select a new setting?** _

“Yes! Uh, let’s try something like, _way out there_. I’m feeling adventurous today.” Peter said, scrolling through the new features on his suit that Karen was displaying in front of him.

_**Are you aware that the training wheels protocol is turned off and you have access to all settings and not just ones you are accustomed to?** _

“I- I am aware, okay maybe I don’t want to go _super_ out there, just, let’s try something new.”

Peter begins swiping on the screen projected in front of him, he was just messing around trying to find a new feature to get the hang of or a web shooter to use, but something goes wrong.

Something goes terribly wrong.

A current of electricity rips through his body, the tingling sensation almost unbearable as he feels his mind enter another playing field.

The shock knocks him off his feet and back against the wall, his head making contact and whipping back. Peter couldn’t see anything. Then the shapes came, blurry but slowly coming into focus.

Peter couldn’t believe how much of an idiot he was. He was careless and was messing around with the suit when he should be responsible, he should be better.

He knows he should call Mr. Stark. That what he told him to do whenever he got injured, but he just can’t have him take the suit away. And oh god he just wanted to show Mr. Stark he was responsible and now what would he think of him? Couldn’t even take care of himself?

Peter struggles to breathe and realizes that he may be in more of a pickle than he had thought.

“Karen?” he asked, with a weak cough.

_**Hello Peter. Are you alr-** _

Karen’s interface glitched and Peter watched as she disappeared from his view.

The whole system was fried.

He wasn’t going to call anyways.

Well, maybe Ned.

Peter peeled the singed suit off of his numb and tingling body, still light-headed he stumbled his way back to the alley where he stashed his backpack earlier.

Thankfully it was still there, and he was able to gingerly pull a sweatshirt over himself, the soft material felt good. _Super good._ Like he wanted to curl up in it and take a nap.

In the back of Peter’s mind, he heard his Aunt’s voice echoing in his head about never falling asleep on a concussion, but Peter just brushed it off. He probably didn’t even have one anyway, and the sweatshirt felt so warm...

He sat himself down against the wall of the alleyway, sinking into the cement, not caring that the smell coming from the dumpster down the way was entrapping itself around him.

Peter’s head was full of static and his limbs were full of sand, moving felt like under a thick layer of soup, but a vibrating continued to come from his backpack that was just _so annoying_ the sound seemed to rattle against his skull.

He unzipped his bag again and fumbled inside, hand landing on his phone that he forgot he had packed. Guess he had it the whole time.

Peter blinked a few times, the phone screen morphed from completely blurry to barely make out the three single letters ‘NED’

He answered.

“Hey, Ned.”

_“Peter? Oh my God, I’ve been calling all day! We were supposed to meet to go over the physics homework. Where are you?”_

Crap. How long had he been out here?

He swallowed, his throat heavy.

“I- I was out patrolling.”

_“Well, are you on your way back? I’m waiting at your Aunts’ place… When you weren’t here I covered for you and told her you were with Tony Stark. I mean- you probably were anyway.”_

“Thanks, Ned.”

Peter's lips were tingling and his face was numb, he was talking but it didn’t feel like he was talking. Like someone else's dream.

_“So you’re on your way back?”_

“About that...” Peter paused. What could he say? He still didn’t want Mr. Stark to find out that he was careless with the suit, he might not be able to be Spider-Man anymore! “Ned, you have to promise that you won’t tell anybody.”

_“What? Peter? What happened?”_ his voice more rapid and filled with concern.

“I did something to my suit. It was an accident. I don’t really know what happened, but the whole thing kinda exploded-”

_“Exploded?!”_

“Exploded is a bad word. Fried. But I really don’t want Mr. Stark to find out. Not yet at least.

Peter could hear Ned sigh through the receiver. _“Okay, okay, I promise. I won’t tell Mr. Stark.”_ he paused for a moment, _“Are you okay though? Were you in the suit when it ‘not-exploded’?”_

Peter was shaking his head no before he remembered that Ned couldn’t see him. “I’m fine! Really. Just, you know, some minor...numbness and tingling and stuff. Headache. Everything’s kinda blurry. But I probably just need a nap or something!”

_“Peter, that sounds like electric shock...”_ Ned stopped again and Peter could only imagine what was going through his friend's mind. _“I really think you should tell your Aunt. She’s a nurse, she can help.”_

Tell Aunt May? She would freak out! She’d probably take the suit away herself and say it was too dangerous.

“No, they’d just stop me from being Spider-Man. I can’t let them take that away from me.”

_“Peter, listen to me, you’re not thinking rationally. They only ever want to help you! Everyone makes mistakes- everybody gets into accidents. You’re gonna be okay, and they’re gonna give you a second chance! So you broke the suit, so what? You messed up. Now is when you go and ask for help.”_

Peter resisted the urge to drop the call. Ned didn’t understand.

“I just…what if they take the suit away?”

_“Right now you need help. We’ll deal with that later. Everything's going to be fine though- just trust me. As someone that has broken a million of my Mom’s favorite bowls at one time or another… people have a way of getting over things.”_ Ned was getting anxious. _“Just, tell me where you are.”_

Peter was putting all his energy into focusing on his friend's words over the throbbing headache. “If you’re sure. I still don’t know. But… I’m in the alley behind Delmar's.”

A heavy breath of relief echoed through the receiver. _“Okay, Peter, just stay there, and I’m gonna get you some help.”_

The hang-up tone, Peter found, was just as annoying and bothering as the ring.

…

Ned put the phone in his back pocket, suddenly vastly heavier than before. A thick line of sweat was begging to form on the curl of his neck. Being friends with Peter was kinda a lot sometimes.

“Uh… May?” he asked, leaving his spot in Peter’s room where he was awaiting his friend.

The older woman hummed from the living room, alerting him of her presence.

“What do you need, Ned?” she asked, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, her smile oblivious.

“I uh… I think we need to call Tony Stark.”

May stopped what she was doing, and looked at the teen, her brow immediately contorted in confusion. “Stark? Isn’t he with Peter?”

Ned’s cheeks flushed as he looked down at his feet, avoiding her gaze. “So, that, uh, may not have been the whole truth. I admit-” Ned puts his hands up in fake surrender, “that wasn’t very smart of me to cover for him without knowing where he was, but what’s important is I just got off the phone with Peter and he’s got himself in a bit of trouble and I really think he needs our help!” Ned rushed.

May’s mouth agape, she didn’t really know what to say. Not that she was very surprised, it seemed as if every time she turned around Peter was out patrolling…

“What kind of trouble?”

“Uh…just like some electroshock from the suit? Something went wrong. I don’t know all the details, but I do know he’s by Delmar's.”

May was already slinging her bag around her shoulder. “Let’s go!”

…

May and Ned practically run from the subway station to Delmar’s, scouring the back of the alley for where Peter could be. Ned had called Stark on the way, May wasn’t putting too high of an expectation onto whether or not he’d be there, Tony Stark was a busy man, after all.

She sees him. first, sees his legs sticking out behind a dumpster. _And oh god, Peter._

“Peter? You okay? It’s your Aunt and Ned...” she said, stepping closer to the teen who was slumped against the alleyway wall.

His pale complexion melting into his grey sweatshirt, Peter’s collar was soaked in sweat.

“Peter?” May gently shook his shoulder, and his eyes fluttered open at the movement.

His breathing pattern changed as he awoke and he began wheezing.

“Hey, hey, Peter… relax. Take a deep breath. You’re okay.” she soothed, rubbing his back.

Peter regained his breath and got readjusted to his surroundings, just as a familiar whoosh made them all turn their heads towards the entrance of the alley. It was Iron Man himself.

All eyes were on Peter. 

“Oh, well, uh, hi everybody.” he sputtered, obviously still a bit out of it, but looking from his Aunt to Ned to his newly arrived mentor.

“Shit, kid. What happened?” Tony asked, removing his helmet.

Peter tried to sink into the ground. But he still felt so numb like he could just float away… He didn’t really want to tell them.

“I.. uh...my suit.” he gestured to the singed balled up piece of fabric halfway tucked into his backpack. “I was trying out a new setting on it, and it uh, I don’t know, sent some sort of current. Through the suit and…me...and. Just. Fried the system, too I guess.” Peter said examining a lone piece of gravel on the ground.

“Shit, kid. I’m sorry, nothing like that should be able to happen at all.” Tony started, the guilt racking up in the older man.

“Wait... _you’re_ sorry?” Peter said in disbelief. “I thought you were going to be like...mad that I messed up the suit.”

“Kid, there should be no discernible way for you to accidentally electrocute yourself. That’s a problem that should have been fixed on day 1. Nothing on you.”

He stepped out of his Iron suit at this point and made his way towards the group surrounding Peter, still lay against the wall.

“Wait- you were worried I’d be mad?” Tony’s heart sank a little as he remembered back when he was a kid and would rather hide a broken arm than go to his father. To hell with that, no one should ever have to feel like that.

Peter shrugged.

“I don’t know. I wanted you to think that I could still be responsible. That I could still be Spider-Man.”

_Kid_. He had so much weight on his shoulders.

“I think that we all can agree, that your safety is what’s important. And that we all trust each other.” May said, still stroking his back.

“Precisely. You don’t ever need to be afraid to come to us when you need help- even if you feel like you messed up. You got it?” Tony asked.

Peter nodded, and Tony prayed that he actually took it to heart.

“Cause, hell, kid, anything could have happened. You could have had a seizure or- or worse, and I..” Tony trailed off, scared to finish the thought himself.

“But uh- anyways,” he begins again before his voice betrays himself, “we need to get you checked out, kid. I can call a car to get you and May to the Compound, it’s the safest place for you to rest with the best place of hands on care.”

“The car will take you home too Ned, don’t worry,” Tony said, patting the younger teen on the back. Despite circumstances, Ned’s face lights up because- _the_ Tony Stark was calling _him_ a car home.

“Yes Mr. Stark sir, thank you, sir.” Ned glows.

Tony and May hoist Peter onto his feet and what little color he had drained from his face, leaving the teen more ghost than human.

“Yeah, I’m not feeling so hot.” he murmurs.

“I know, I know, honey,” May says.

The car arrives in probably faster time than possible for New York and it’s not lost on May that Tony Stark is using all his best resources on her kid.

“Thank you,” she whispers again to the man as they all pile in.

Tony just shakes his head. “Anytime.” And he meant it. He’d do anything for this kid, in a heartbeat.

Peter was packed in the middle of the 3 people that he trusted the most, and was beginning to realize that maybe he had nothing to be afraid of. He was still Spider-Man after all.

Sometimes mistakes are just mistakes. And sometimes when you trust somebody, things do work out. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! <3


End file.
